Gutsy Pirates give it their all in epic Coke Cup quarter-final
Sunday’s Safa Cape Town Coca-Cola Amateur Cup quarter-final clash between former Coke Cup champions, Heideveld’s Young Pirates and Mitchell’s Plain’s FC Tafelzucht, at the Downberg Sports complex in Hanover Park, was a humdinger of note.
In a match that could have gone either way, the 2016 title holders went down 2-1 in an epic clash that saw them dominating the first half, with Tafelzucht coming back strong in the second half.
Alphonzo Roman opened the scoresheet for Pirates with an assist coming off a header from Shamiel Assur.
With their opponents on the back foot for much of the first half, Pirates kept on pressing, threatening to score on multiple occasions before the break. However, luck was not on their side as referee Ryan New signalled the end of the first half before either side could find the back of the net.
Tafelzucht’s Keanu Josias equalised matters late in the second half with a deflected shot that hit the target in the 75th minute, followed by Yaseen Hartley’s header in the 84th minute.
“Look, we are very proud of them, " said coach Roger Fortune, who was with the side when they lifted the trophy, at Athlone Stadium, eight years ago.
“They tried their best and wanted this more than anything else, not only for us as Young Pirates, but for those kids out there in Heideveld giving them the belief that there is a way out of all the negativity going on in our community.
“It's not the result we wanted,” he said, quick to congratulate his opponents, “but we are strong enough to take it and soldier on. It's not how hard we fall but how we pick ourselves up to show the people that we are Pirates and we will keep on fighting.”
Fellow coach Keith “Kiddo” Esau agrees, saying the plan was to keep playing their way.”Obviously we had to make a few tactical changes, which worked for us but at the end of the day we didn't take the chances created versus the three chances they had and took,” he said.
This year’s quarter-finals had special significance for Esau as his twin brother, Kevin “Gwappie” Esau, was in charge of Bonteheuwel’s Bluegum United, who lost 5-2 against Manenberg’s Young Idols in a quarter-final fixture played at Dunoon sports complex.
“We knew that if they pulled one back, they would keep coming at us but we kept our cool and played through our phases, creating more chances to score. But alas, we couldn't finish,” he said.
“The competition this year was a mixed bag in general with so many surprises and upsets that came with it. In the last 16, we played a very physical Montague Spurs. We eventually won the game 6-3, but onlookers will tell you the scoreline did not reflect the flow of the game,” Esau said.
Club president Ricardo Daniels, echoed a similar sentiment, saying: ”Everything was going to plan, but our finishing was not on point. That said, we enjoyed the ride in the Coke Cup but there can only be one winner. Tafelzucht Is a good team and their subs did change the game in the second half,” he said.
